Dozens Feared Dead as Iranian Destroyer Accidentally SINKS One of the Country’s Own Warships; Iran Says It’s Ready for Unconditional Prisoner Swap With U.S.

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By Daily Mail. An Iranian destroyer has reportedly opened fire on one of its own warships by accident, causing ‘dozens of casualties’.

The friendly fire reportedly sank one of Iran’s own warships in the Sea of Oman.

40 naval personnel are missing in the incident, according to local media reports this evening. . .

According to local media, an Iranian battleship was accidentally hit by a C-802 Noor missile during military exercises, causing it to sink.

ELINT News reported that the Iranian Jamaran frigate accidentally fired on the Konarak support ship with an anti-ship cruise missile during exercises. (Read more from “Dozens Feared Dead as Iranian Destroyer Accidentally SINKS One of the Country’s Own Warships” HERE)

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Iran Says It’s Ready for Unconditional Prisoner Swap With U.S. Amid Coronavirus Fears

By TIME. Iran says it is ready for unconditional prisoner swap talks with the United States because of fears that the coronavirus could put the lives of the prisoners at risk, Iranian media reported Sunday.

An Iranian news website, Khabaronline.ir, quoted Cabinet spokesman Ali Rabiei as saying there is a “readiness for all prisoners” to be discussed without condition.

“But the U.S. has refused to answer, so far,” said Rabiei. “We hope that as the outbreak of the COVID-19 disease threatens the lives of Iranian citizens in the U.S. prisons, the U.S. government eventually will prefer lives to politics.”

A senior U.S. official, who was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity, said, “There has been no offer and no offer of direct talks.” (Read more from “Iran Says It’s Ready for Unconditional Prisoner Swap With U.S. Amid Coronavirus Fears” HERE)

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Bombshell Intel Report Exposes How China Colluded With WHO to Hide Truth About Coronavirus

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By The Blaze. A new intelligence report from Germany’s intelligence service, known as the Bundesnachrichtendienst, reveals how China and the World Health Organization colluded to suppress the truth about coronavirus.

According to the report, which was obtained by German newspaper Der Spiegel, Chinese President Xi Jinping asked WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom in January to suppress the truth about COVID-19.

Unfortunately for the international community, Adhanom complied with China’s request, according to the Taiwan News.

During a conversation on Jan. 21, Xi reportedly asked Tedros not to announce that the virus could be transmitted between humans and to delay any declaration of a coronavirus pandemic.

It took until the end of January before the WHO declared the coronavirus outbreak needed to receive international attention. Because of China’s delay, the world wasted four to six weeks it could have used better to counter the virus from spreading, the BND concluded.

(Read more from “Bombshell Intel Report Exposes How China Colluded With WHO to Hide Truth About Coronavirus” HERE)

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What We Don’t Know About Coronavirus Origins Might Kill Us

By Bloomberg. The best minds in virology are trying to unravel a mystery: How did a lethal coronavirus jump from the wilds of rural China to major human population centers? And what chain of genetic mutations produced a pathogen so perfectly adapted for stealth and mass transmission?

Deciphering the creation story of SARS-CoV-2, as the virus now rampaging around the globe is known, is a crucial step toward arresting a pandemic that’s killed 270,000-plus and triggered what could be the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression.

While crash vaccine programs are underway in the U.S., Europe and China, an inoculation to ward off the virus may not be ready for months, and the jury’s out on potential treatments. In the meantime, to reduce the risk of deadly secondary outbreaks or the emergence of an entirely new strain, disease chasers need to retrace the pathogen’s journey around the globe. That means heading back to China, where it all started sometime in 2019. . .

President Xi Jinping, who’s personally overseeing China’s virus response and investigation into how the outbreak started, is keeping tight control over Chinese scientific research, which must be approved prior to publication by authorities, according to two people familiar with the situation. (Read more from “What We Don’t Know About Coronavirus Origins Might Kill Us” HERE)

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Wuhan Reports First Coronavirus Case in a Month

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The Chinese city of Wuhan has seen its first new case of the novel coronavirus in more than a month as China has also reported a spate of new infections in the northeast, after moving to reopen from months of stringent lockdown. Meanwhile, Germany, which has also taken steps to ease lockdown restrictions, has seen its infection rate rise and South Korea has seen a flare up of new cases in Seoul, causing the mayor to shutter bars and nightclubs.

As several countries around the world have begun taking steps to ease coronavirus lockdown restrictions after seeing a significant decline in new infections and deaths, states and municipalities across the U.S. have also begun to reopen slowly. But health experts continue to warn of the risk of new outbreaks and a possible second wave of infections that could potentially once again overwhelm hospitals and clinics.

On Sunday, Chinese officials reported that the northeastern city of Shulan had 11 new confirmed cases of the novel virus after one woman in a family tested positive on May 7. The city has now implemented restrictive measures, including a ban on non-essential travel, closure of schools, and a lockdown of residential compounds.

Additionally, the first new confirmed case of the virus has been reported in Wuhan, where COVID-19 was initially discovered last year. In total, China confirmed 14 new cases of the coronavirus on Saturday, after more than a week of new daily cases remaining in the single digits. (Read more from “Wuhan Reports First Coronavirus Case in a Month” HERE)

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COVID-19 Deaths Way Higher Than Mexican Government Admitted

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. . .Health officials in Mexico City have been begging the government for weeks to reveal the true toll the coronavirus is taking on the city. But government officials refuse to acknowledge the massive extent of the crisis, as the “Mexican Dr. Fauci” — the “public face” of the crisis — assures the people that everything is fine. “We have flattened the curve,” said Hugo Lopez-Gatell, the health ministry official used as a frontman by the government. He’s apparently become something of a celebrity on TV.

Meanwhile, the New York Times reports on the true nature of the nightmare that is gripping the country.

Only 0.4 of every 1,000 people in Mexico are tested for the virus — by far the lowest of the dozens of nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which average about 23 tests for every 1,000 people.

The government says Mexico has been faring better than many of the world’s largest countries, and on Monday its COVID-19 czar estimated that the final death toll would be around 6,000 people.

(Read more from “COVID-19 Deaths Way Higher Than Mexican Government Admitted” HERE)

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WHO Says China Blocking It From Investigation Into Coronavirus Origin

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A top World Health Organization official said Thursday that China is blocking the WHO from participating in China’s investigation into the origin of coronavirus.

Dr. Gauden Galea, the WHO’s representative to China, told Sky News that the WHO has made repeated requests to join the investigation to no avail.

“We know that some national investigation is happening but at this stage we have not been invited to join,” Galea said. “We are expecting to get in the near future a briefing on where that is and to discuss possible collaboration.”

He added: “WHO is making requests of the health commission and of the authorities. The origins of [the] virus are very important, the animal-human interface is extremely important and needs to be studied.”

When asked whether China had a good reason for excluding the WHO, Galea answered: “From our point of view, no.” (Read more from “WHO Says China Blocking It From Investigation Into Coronavirus Origin” HERE)

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Report: Kim Jong Un Makes First Public Appearance Since Health Rumors

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By Breitbart. North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un allegedly made a public appearance on Saturday amid unconfirmed reports that he is critically ill, dead, or hiding from the Chinese coronavirus, according to South Korea’s Yonhap.

Kim Jong Un attended the completion of a fertilizer plant in Sunchon, marking his first public appearance in 20 days, Reuters reported, citing North Korea’s state news agency KCNA. The report claimed he attended the ceremony with other senior officials, along with his sister, Kim Yo Jong.

(Read more from “Report: Kim Jong Un Makes First Public Appearance Since Health Rumors” HERE)

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Kim Jong Un Appears in Public for First Time in Weeks: Report

By New York Post. Kim Jong Un, rumored for weeks to be deathly ill or even dead, has made his first public appearance in 20 days, according to reports from North and South Korea.

North Korea’s KCNA news agency reported that Kim cut the ribbon at the opening of a fertilizer factory, the BBC reported Friday evening.

South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported is also reporting a public appearance by the dictator. . .

But if true, the appearance would belie rumors of Kim’s death following surgery. (Read more from “Kim Jong Un Appears in Public for First Time in Weeks: Report” HERE)

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Canada Bans Assault Weapons

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Canada is banning military-style assault weapons after the country’s deadliest mass-shooting in history, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Friday.

“These weapons were designed for one purpose and one purpose only: to kill the largest number of people in the shortest amount of time. There is no use and no place for such weapons in Canada,” Trudeau said in a briefing where he announced the decision.

The ban is effective immediately and includes 1,500 models of military-style assault weapons. . .

Trudeau spoke about the issue on Thursday, but only said a decision would be made in the coming days.

“We have long committed to strengthening gun control in this country, including banning military-style assault weapons,” he said. “There is no need in Canada for guns designed to kill the largest amount of people, in the shortest amount of time.” (Read more from “Canada Bans Assault Weapons” HERE)

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Iranians Poisoning Themselves Faster Than the Virus Can Kill Them

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As if Iran wasn’t having enough problems during the pandemic already. They were among the slowest to respond to the novel coronavirus outbreak and they continued to allow regular flights to and from China until only recently. The percapita death toll in their nation was among the highest in the world and most average citizens couldn’t expect much help or relief from their corrupt government. And now, to top it all off, a rumor has been going around that drinking methanol (commonly known as methyl alcohol or wood alcohol) can stave off the virus or even cure COVID-19. The result? More than 700 people have died from methyl alcohol poisoning, and those are only the numbers that the government is willing to admit to. (Associated Press)

The false belief that toxic methanol cures the coronavirus has seen over 700 people killed in Iran, an official said Monday.

That represents a higher death toll than so far released by the Iranian Health Ministry.

An adviser to the ministry, Hossein Hassanian, said that the difference in death tallies is because some alcohol poisoning victims died outside of hospital.

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At least according to their official numbers, 728 Iranians died from drinking this poisonous product during the 46 days between Feb. 20 and April 7. That’s vastly more than in previous periods, but such incidents weren’t unknown. Last year, before anyone had begun talking about the novel coronavirus, 66 Iranians died from methanol poisoning. What were they thinking? (Read more from “Iranians Poisoning Themselves Faster Than the Virus Can Kill Them” HERE)

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Here’s Some Fresh Intel on Kim Jong Un — and It Doesn’t Look Good

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By New York Post. Taiwan’s intelligence chief said Thursday that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un is “sick” — and his country has emergency plans for a potential power struggle if he dies, according to reports.

Chiu Kuo-cheng, the director of the National Security Bureau (NSB), gave a vague health description when pressed at a government hearing about rumors of Kim’s possible death, according to Taiwan News.

He merely laughed and refused to reply when asked if that meant the Hermit Kingdom’s leader was indeed alive, the report said.

“My answer is from the intelligence that is available and it is not an opinion,” Chiu told lawmakers, according to the Taipei Times. (Read more from “Here’s Some Fresh Intel on Kim Jong Un — and It Doesn’t Look Good” HERE)

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Kim Jong Un May Be at North Korea Resort Compound After Satellite Images Spot Luxury Boats

By Fox News. Recent satellite photos indicate that North Korean dictator Kim Jong Un might actually be at a luxury coastal resort on the Hermit Kingdom’s northeast coast — despite worldwide speculation about his health.

Since Kim, last seen on April 11, missed an April 15 commemoration that celebrated the 108th birthday of his late grandfather, North Korea founder Kim Il Sung, unverified reports have emerged about a possible illness.

A key aide to the president of South Korea insisted on Sunday that Kim, who is believed to be 36, was “alive and well.”

“He has been staying in the Wonsan area since April 13,” Chung-in Moon, foreign policy adviser to South Korean President Moon Jae-in, told Fox News. “No suspicious movements have so far been detected.”

On Tuesday, the North Korean-monitoring website NK Pro reported that recent commercial satellite imagery showed leisure boats often used by Kim near his exclusive villa in Wonsan. (Read more from “Kim Jong Un May Be at North Korea Resort Compound After Satellite Images Spot Luxury Boats” HERE)

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Iran Now ‘a Superpower,’ Iranian General Boasts After Satellite Launch

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A top Iranian commander has claimed the country is now a superpower and that the United States and “even greater powers will not dare do anything” to it, following the April 22 launch of Iran’s first military satellite.

In an interview with Iran’s Channel 2 last week, Amir Ali Hajizadeh, commander of the Revolutionary Guards’ Aerospace Force, said that the Iranian satellite could now pass over the United States and other countries that its planes cannot fly over. . .

The two-stage rocket that launched the satellite took off from Iran’s Central Desert, the IRGC said, without elaborating or saying when exactly the launch took place. The paramilitary force said it used a Ghased, or “Messenger,” satellite carrier to put the device into space, a previously unheard-of system.

“Today, space is open to all. We can get anywhere. [Noor’s] orbit passes over America and many countries over which we cannot fly planes,” Hajizadeh said, in comments translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI).

“Thanks to the grace of God we are a superpower today. I say this decisively. America, and even greater powers, will not dare do anything,” he continued. “With determination and strength, we promise to the Iranian nation that we will advance space technologies. We will grow stronger every day in every field, because this is what the honorable Leader ordered us to do. (Read more from “Iran Now ‘a Superpower,’ Iranian General Boasts After Satellite Launch” HERE)

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